


Osculum Pacis

by temporalesca



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 03:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6595501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/temporalesca/pseuds/temporalesca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Ylissian army defeats Grima and starts their long march back to Ylisstol, Lucina must decide on a knight to assign as her protector.</p>
<p>Background Frederick/Cordelia and implied Chrobin</p>
<p>Birthday present for my girlfriend Alexa!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Osculum Pacis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [atinyknight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/atinyknight/gifts).



> Osculum Pacis is the Latin phrase for the Kiss of Peace, which is [presumed to be the accolade which Charles the Great used when knighting his son Louis le Débonnaire.](http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/ecco/004894364.0001.000/1:5.9?rgn=div2;view=fulltext)

The war was over. It was finally over. Not just the war with Plegia, but the war with Valm, and most importantly, the war against Grima. The Fell Dragon had been defeated, and everyone was able to make their way home.

For the Ylissians, their trek was a long one. Luckily, once they had crossed the border into Ylisse, there were friendly faces that gave them soft beds to sleep in and warm food to eat. However, once they had settled into an encampment, finding someone could prove to be tricky. There were roughly 40 of them, and they usually had to be spread out among several inns.

Yet Lucina knew that finding the particular person she was after shouldn’t prove to be too difficult. She knew where to find her parents, which meant she knew Frederick’s room would be right next-door. On the very slim chance he didn’t know the exact locations of the whole army, he was guaranteed to know at least where his daughter was.

Armed with this knowledge, Lucina made her way to Severa’s room. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves before knocking firmly on the door.

“Severa? It’s Lucina. May I ask you something?”

“Come in,” Severa’s voice came, muffled from the heavy oak door.

Lucina let herself in and shut the door behind her to give them some privacy.

Severa had already changed from her dusty travelling clothes to her sleepwear. She had let her long red hair down from her pigtails and had it pulled over her shoulder. She had a hairbrush in her hand and did not stop her current task when the princess came in. She pierced Lucina with her crimson stare, waiting for her to speak.

The typical etiquette would be to stand when royalty was in the room and offer them a seat. However, this etiquette had become lax with the Shepherds, as Chrom insisted that they treat him as own of their own. Within Lucina’s group, the etiquette had lapsed even more. Fighting against a dragon god and trying to prevent the end of the world would do that for you.

Lucina was tempted to tell Severa how much she looked like her mother with her hair down, but she knew that Severa would be annoyed, not pleased, by this, and she wanted Severa’s agreement to what she was about to ask. So she kept her mouth shut, about the transgression and about Severa’s striking resemblance to Cordelia, and instead met Severa’s eyes.

“As you know, a knight is typically assigned to each member of the royal family as their protector. Phila was the protector of Exalt Emmeryn, and your father, Frederick, is protector of my father and Aunt Lissa. When we return to Ylisstol, I will be formally recognized as a member of the royal family and need a knight protector. I would like you to consider being mine.”

Severa’s brushing slowed to a stop, but her stare did not leave Lucina’s eyes.

“I will not become a pegasus knight,” she said sharply.

“I would not ask that of you,” Lucina replied, her voice calm but her heart pounding. “With Frederick as your father, becoming a traditional knight should not be hard for you to achieve.”

“Why not ask Cynthia? Or Kjelle?” Severa asked, her tone more cautious. She placed her brush on the small table next to her chair. “They’re both already excellent knights.”

“My brother has already set his sights on asking Cynthia to be his protector. Kjelle is not interested in being stuck to my side 24/7, nor am I interested in forcing her into a role she does not want. I came to you, Severa, because I trust you the most. I already know you would give your life for me, your parents have served mine for years, and there’s no one I’d rather have by my side,” Lucina said softly. She felt a flush rise on her cheeks with the honesty of her feelings.

Her flush was probably nothing compared to the vibrant scarlet that Severa’s cheeks were burning. She finally averted her stare from Lucina, opting instead to burning a hole in the floor with the intensity of her gaze.

“F-fine!” Severa blurted, combing her fingers through her hair. “I’ll do it! But only because if I turn you down, you’ll probably end up going to Inigo, and I don’t trust him to protect you as far as I can throw him.”

“Thank you Severa!” Lucina said, smiling warmly. She left the room, leaving Severa to her thoughts.

Lucina didn’t see much of Severa during the rest of the long march to Ylisstol. Whenever she did see her, Severa was following her father around, training with Kjelle, or sparring with anyone who agreed to it.

It wasn’t until they were a few days march outside Ylisstol that Lucina had a chance to speak with Severa again. Lucina went into the convoy to grab a weapon to spar with, and Severa was there, dutifully sharpening all of the swords.

Lucina watched for a moment in awe. Severa didn’t break a single sword. This was completely different from the girl that she had escaped the future with, who they had to ban from getting anywhere _near_ the whetstone on account of how many swords she broke while trying to sharpen them.

Also completely different was Severa’s face.  She normally took great care of her appearance, but now her cheeks were gaunt and there were large bags under her eyes.

“Severa, what _happened_ to you?” Lucina couldn’t help but blurt out.

Severa stopped sharpening the sword abruptly and glanced up. “What?” She responded irritably.

“I’m worried that you’re pushing yourself too hard. Have you been eating and sleeping?”

Severa looked like she was going to snap a reply but changed her mind when she saw the look in obvious concern in Lucina’s eyes.

“It’s just for a few more days, okay?” She muttered softly, looking away and placing the sword down next to her. “You wanted me to be your knight.”

“Severa,” Lucina began gently, “you know that because of everything we went through, any of us just needs to _ask_ and we can receive knighthood, right?”

“I know,” Severa said, angrily wiping at her eyes where tears were beginning to form. She muttered something else that Lucina wasn’t able to catch.

“I’m sorry?”

“I _said_ , I know that, but I really want to make my father proud. Everyone looks up to him as the perfect knight, and I want his blessing to become a knight.”

“Oh, Severa,” Lucina said softly. She crossed to where Severa was standing and took her hands in hers. “Your father is a great knight, but he is also something unreal. I’ve never seen a person who is more committed to the cause and less committed to proper self-care than your parents. I understand that making your father proud is important to you, so I’m not going to force you to stop, but I beg you to consider slowing down a little bit after you’re knighted. Nobody needs the smallest holes in their tents patched up or the trail cleared of every. I don’t want you to change yourself for me.”

“Yeah, I suppose what you’re saying makes sense,” Severa said, meeting Lucina’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I got a little caught up in the whole thing, and I wasn’t really acting like myself, was I?”

Lucina smiled. “It’s fine. And once we get back to Ylisstol, if I start acting like someone else because of the pressure of the crown, I want you to be honest with me and tell me, okay?”

Severa couldn’t help but to laugh. “Gawds, I would love to see you act a little more like Chrom.”

“Stop!” Lucina said, smacking Severa lightly on the arm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know! You’re so uptight all the time, and your father’s a big goof!”

The two dissolved into giggles, and Lucina felt relief that Severa wasn’t committing on becoming as extreme as her father.

~*~ 

Lucina’s coronation was planned for a fortnight after their return to Ylisstol. This would give everyone enough time to settle down and get everything back in order after the war.

As Lucina’s future protector, Severa was slated to be knighted the morning after Lucina’s coronation. The tradition was that on the eve of one’s knighting ceremony, they were required to stay awake the entire night in a vigil to Naga, and her Voice, Tiki, praying for their guidance and strength.

Lucina was saddened that Severa would not be there for her coronation or the reception afterwards, as she really desired her friend’s support and to have a friendly face in the crowd. Every cloud came with a silver lining, though. Her father promised to let her lead Severa’s knighting ceremony, as her first role as crown princess of the realm.

The coronation seemed to fly by and before she knew it, she was officially declared next in line to the throne, after her parents. Even though she had ruled in the alternate timeline after her father’s death, being the current crown princess seemed like a lot more pressure. It was one thing to try to rule while the entire world was going to shit anyway. It felt way harder to have real responsibility and make her parents proud.

Early the next morning, Frederick was there to make sure that she was out of bed and dressed in time. He reminded her of the steps of the coronation ceremony as she prepared herself in her full regalia. She smiled to herself, because this was Frederick’s way of relieving his nervous energy for the ceremony.

Lucina led the procession of her parents, Severa’s parents, and several other members of the royal court into the chapel where Severa was kneeling. The congregation gathered at the front of the chapel, and Severa rose from her kneeling position.

“We are gathered here today, to witness the knighting ceremony of Lady Severa. Lord Frederick, do you agree to witness this knighting, and swear that Lady Severa is a fit candidate to join the loyal orders of the knights of Ylisse?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

“Lady Severa, do you swear to be faithful to me, your lady, never cause me harm?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

“Do you swear to put others above yourself, defend those who cannot defend themselves, and uphold justice by being fair to all?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

“Do you swear to be generous to the poor, forgive others, and live your life with honor?”

“I do solemnly swear.”

Lucina took Severa’s sword belt from Frederick, who was standing to her right. Severa’s breath hitched as Lucina’s trembling fingers attempted to fasten her belt around her waist.

“Take a deep breath. You’re going to embarrass yourself,” Severa whispered, soft enough that only Lucina could hear.

Lucina smiled and looked up at Severa, who tinged pink and looked away. To most people, these words would be criticism, but Lucina knew that Severa was trying to reassure her.

She finally secured Severa’s belt and straightened up. Lucina put her hands on Severa’s shoulders.

“In the honor of Naga, the Divine Dragon, and Tiki, her Voice, I make you a knight of the land of Ylisse,” she said, kissing Severa on the left cheek.

With that, the ceremony ended, and everyone began to chat amongst themselves as they exited. In the hubbub, no one noticed the reddened cheeks of the new knight and her princess, or their fingers twining together.

**Author's Note:**

> haha did you know that before Europeans would dub a knight with a sword, they would [embrace (or hit) the knight and kiss them on the left cheek?](https://books.google.com/books?id=ophIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA389&lpg=PA389&dq=knighting+kiss+accolade&source=bl&ots=evh3MA3kGo&sig=WgIdEcm_oORn5sZ7vzEIlJLBltg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwip64qmw4rMAhVkx4MKHc5xCKsQ6AEIKTAC#v=onepage&q=knighting%20kiss%20accolade&f=false)  
> also I took most of the oath stuff from [Le Mort d'Arthur](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/530194-this-is-the-oath-of-a-knight-of-king-arther-s)


End file.
